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Monday, September 1, 2014

Garden share collective August 1st

I had a break last month since I was overseas visiting my brand new grandson in America. My poor hubby was battling bandicoots and scrub hens while I was away, but I returned with renewed vigour and enthusiasm for my little veggie patch. A reader asked what bandicoots are - they are like a huge rat that burrow into the garden looking for grubs. I have been going through each bed, weeding, mulching and even planting so I hope the wet season takes its time coming this year, allowing a bit more prime veggie growing time. The first two beds were weeded and cleared immediately I returned.

Last time I posted I talked about purchasing a dwarf avocado, and on my return I found a grafted avocado at the markets. It is flowering and has been planted in the hole that used to be the in bucket worm farm so I imagine that soil must be pretty good. That was a pretty good reason to get out there in the garden.

I have been given conflicting advice, some say these flowers will fall off, but the lady I bought it from said I will have avos this year. I am sure you know which I hope will happen :)

My tomatoes have been going great guns and I am especially loving the yellow tomatoes. I see a package from Eden seeds in the planted section , heirloom open pollinated - yeah.that means I will be saving the seeds. In fact I forsee lots of seed saving in the next couple of months. Bok choy, rocket, rosella, tomato just to name a few.

My herbs are doing really well, and there is nothing better than cooking a meal that is seasoned with something out of the garden. We entertained some dear friends on my first weekend back and sitting out in the garden under the stars munching on freshly baked sundried tomato and herb foccacia was a a lovely way to celebrate being back home again. MrFothergills sent me some more seeds and I planted out chamomile, borage and summer savory, not sure how they will do in this climate, but I am giving them a go.

The flat leaf parsley is doing great in the besa brick edge

I have purple basil, green basil and now bi-colour basil, so plenty of basil, and I love making pesto, although my old food processor seems to not be up to the challenge anymore for some reason :(.

Gem squash is popping up, I am always willing to try them, even though our climate is not ideal.

My peppers always seem to be on their last legs, but I do get peppers and chilis, I am not sure what I am doing wrong, does anyone have any suggestions?

Look, something is happening to my coffee bush - am I going to get coffee beans?

The herb spiral looks like an overgrown mess, so there is still work to do - I musn't get conplacent.

To do:
I have been reading a lot about biochar lately - how marvellous it is for tropical soils as it sequesters nutrients that are often lost in runoff during the wet season. When added to the soil it can absorb those nutrients from your soil, so it is best to mix in with some manure and rock dust. This mixture is left sitting for a couple of weeks before being added to the soil. I am thinking this might be something I want to add to my soil. For more info here is an interesting article permaculture institute on biochar. Has anyone else done this?

Save seeds
Grow microgreens and sprouts in my sprouter to go with my lovely tomatoes. Harvest as many greens as I still can in the garden before they all start going to seed.

Merryn,Well, I only showed you the areas that have been dealt with! lol. It does look nice in salads, and doesnt have an overpowering flavour which I like. I am hoping that the parsley will keep goinig for a couple of years there - I think they are supposed to last for two years.

I've got mulberries coming on too! I love that you were sitting out under the stars at night, I think last night was the warmest it has been and I could of possibly gone out without a jumper. Fingers crossed for your avo, I am sure you will get fruit even if it is two. See you next month.

Hi, I bet your garden is pleased you are back! :) It's wonderful being able to zip outdoors and grab some fresh herbs - I still relish doing this. So much happening in your garden. Looks like you are going to be busy. I read some good articles at school on bio char but didn't implement any of them. Wish I knew where they were I'd send them on :) Good luck with that.

So that's what a mulberry looks like....all I know of mulberries is the children's nursery rhyme.Here we go round the mulberry bush...the mulberry bush, the mulberry bushHere we go round the mulberry bush...so early in the morning.Your garden is coming along fine.. my garden on the other hand the butterflies laid all their eggs on my favourite greens and the caterpillars ate all my bok choy, kale, and salad greens....I have to replant.

Virginia,as a kid we used to sit in the branches of a huge mulberry tree stuffing ourselves. My mother would despair at the stains in our clothes. so sad about your greens - were they the cabbage moth? A lot of gardeners have had success with netting them.

Well done Gillian. I've got the autumn harvest happening here just now. We've had the juiciest mulberry threes around us in OXON, but I've never done anything with them. They look so great though. That's fascinating about the biochar. I guess tropical soils behave slightly differently to temperate soils. Over here I'm almost ready to sew a winder rye ground cover to boost the little garden for next year. :D

Veronica,I prefer mulberries, just eaten raw, but if pushed with a glut I wouldn't mind making mulberry jam! Yes everything breaks down so quickly here. I was thinking of looking into a green manure crop this year.

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Quotes I enjoy

Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables, they probably get jet-lagged, just like people do - Elizabeth Berry

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:6-7

The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more,

but in developing the capacity to enjoy less

- paraphrased from Socrates quote

“See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.” – Mother Teresa

Nature in all its diversity grants us a glimpse into the heart of God the Father which is nothing but Love.

It is not what you look at that matters, it is what you seeHendry David Thoreau

Making a garden is not a gentle hobby for the elderly,to be picked up and laid down like a game of solitaire. It is a grand passion. It seizes a person whole, and once it has done so he will have to acceptthat his life is going to be radically changed. May SartonPlant Dreaming Deep, 1983

When the trees sing,It doesn't really matterIf you know the song, Or if you know the words,Or even if you know the tune.What really matters is knowing ....That the trees are singing at all.Mattie Stepanek, 1990-2004

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walkor an evening saunter;to be thrilled by the stars at night:to be elated over a bird's nestor a wildflower in spring... these are some of the rewards of the simple life.John Burroughs, 1837-1921

Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder…”– Thoreau

“Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it I wash my mouth out with chocolate.” ~ Charles M. Schulz

You who walkmaybe with troubled thoughts....Come, enter here and restand may the sweet serenityof growing things....and the heavenly peacebe mirrored in thy soul.by Michael Palmer

Gods GardenThe Lord God planted a gardenIn the first white days of the world,And he set there an angel wardenIn a garment of light enfurled.So near to the peace of HeavenThat the hawk might nest with the wren,For there in the cool of the evenGod walked with the first of men.And I dream that these garden closesWith their shade and their sun-flecked sodAnd their lilies and bowers of roses,Were laid by the hand of God.The kiss of the sun for pardon,The song of the birds for mirth, -One is nearer God’s heart in a gardenThan anywhere else on earth.For He broke it for us in a gardenUnder the olive-treesWhere the angel of strength was the wardenAnd the soul of the world found ease.Dorothy Francis Gurney

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.Mary Jean Iron

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.Albert Einstein

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."~ John Lubbock******************************************************